A/N: Short chapter. Works as an epilogue. Didn't turn out exactly as I'd envisioned it. I had fun writing the last ExB scene. The Bella and Charlie scene was poorly thought out. By the very, very end, I think I got bored writing or something. I hope you enjoy E finally beating B in an argument (somehow) lol.

And I apologize for not keeping to my schedule in the last chappy. I suppose, since I've your attention now, I can formulate an excuse... Thing is, I had so much trouble choosing between two of my colleges that everything's still not set in stone yet. I flitted between two colleges all of April. Come 1st of May, I chose one, and my counselor said that if I ever change my mind, he can talk to the other to see if they can still accept me. And I was back at square one. And even now, I still haven't told come to terms with everything myself... it hurts so much. Anyways... happy reading )).

The sun was streaming through the small gaps in the curtains when I woke. Charlie was sitting beside me, staring off into the walls.

“Dad?” I whispered, still not believing that he could’ve lived for all those years without contacting me.

“Bells.” He coughed; his eyes darted away.

“Dad!” I said, louder, sitting up to hug him. His arms wrapped me tight, just like when I was younger. “All these years, and you’re still alive!” I swung my arm at him. “Why didn’t you come find me?”

He was silent. “I-…” He unwrapped my arms from around him and stood up. “It’s really… difficult… for me to recount the story.” He sighed. “Stay quiet, Bells, or I might lose the courage to tell it.”

I waited for him to continue. He paced as he talked, looking everywhere but at me.

“The whirlpool leads to an underground pocket of air. The Swan broke into pieces there. I stayed there for days, if my stomach is any indicator of time. I used the broken Swan as firewood and survived on fish and few supplies that survived into the alcove. It was only after I had burnt over half of the wood that I realized there shouldn’t be that much fresh air under the sea unless there’s some way out.

“The next few days I spent catching weeks’ worth of fish and water and made a make-shift sled to carry it and firewood. I walked deeper into the cave, hoping to find a flicker of wind… anything to indicate where the air comes from.

“On the fifth day, my torch flickered out in an intense gust. I stumbled blindly, looking for the source. There is a hole there, and some sort of magic guarding it. I fell in the hole… the bottomless hole. I don’t know how long I fell before I saw the light. The light that got brighter and brighter until I tumbled into a cave entrance. And that’s where I met Fate herself, talking with Aro about your future.”

He suddenly stopped. “They caught me trying to run away to warn you, to help you make your decisions.” He took a deep breath. “I’m not exactly human anymore, Bells.” He threw open the windows, and completely disappeared from view, save for his clothes. It looked like an invisible cloth hanger was holding them in place. My mouth dropped open “The sun makes me invisible, and the moon makes me a nondescript shadow. I serve Fate; I have her knowledge; nothing could ever kill me, except my own family.” The curtains closed, and Charlie reappeared. “I am bound as a guardian to my kin. When the last of my blood descendents die, I will cease to exist.”

“That’s it?” I blurted without thinking.

“What do you mean, ‘that’s it’? Don’t you care that I’m not human? That I’ll live longer than you? That I’ll forever be a babysitter to your children? your grandchildren? your grandchildren’s children?” He threw his arms up, suddenly enraged.

“No. Because you will always be my father. And you’ll make a wonderful guardian. And I don’t have to find money for a tutor or caretaker… ever!” He snorted.

“And you will always be my daughter.”

***

The sea never smelled more enticing than when I was finally allowed to walk about. Father left not a week ago. It felt inexplicably good to suddenly have family after so many years. I still couldn’t grasp exactly how I feel, knowing that my father will outlive me… if I have a child.

I studied the figure standing on the deck shouting orders. Edward. If he doesn’t marry me, there will never be a child. I blushed, shaking away my thoughts. He cared about me, or he wouldn’t have saved me…

“Key! Are you coming on the ship or not?” a voice shouted. I looked up. Jasper was tossing me a cable. I smiled. He knew me well. I caught the cable and pushed off, swinging over the side of the ship.

“Of course I’m coming. You can’t get rid of me that easily!”

Someone chuckled behind me. I jumped. I’m getting rusty, if people could sneak up on me like that. “You don’t know just how easy you can be rid of, little Bella,” Edward whispered in my ear. I shivered. He used the moment of distraction to pick me up and dangle me over the side of the ship. I yelped.

“Edward, let go of me this instant!” His hands shifted. I looked down and changed my mind. If he dropped me, I’d be in the ocean… and I’ve no intention of getting wet this early in the morning. “Don’t let go!” I pleaded, when his hands made to drop me again. He laughed. Oh, that arrogant jerk! “You are dead, Edward! Dead, you hear me?”

One of his hands let go. I yelped and clung to his other hand. “Hmm… I have a beating heart. I’m breathing. I can talk…” His hand returned to hold me up. “Nope. I’m not dead.”

“You will when I get out of this situation!”

“In that case, I won’t save you, for my life,” he laughed. His hold loosened for a second. I slipped until he was holding me by my armpits. “Now, Bella, what do you say?”

“I know how to bring you down with me.” I grounded out. He chuckled.

“Nope. That’s not going to save you.” My teeth clicked together.

“Edward? May you please save me?” I seethed out.

He swung me back on deck. As soon as my feet touched stable ground, I raised my hand, intent on beating the lights out of him. He caught my arm easily, pinning it down.

“I can still hurt you,” I told him. He smiled, pressing a kiss to my lips. I stilled.

“And I have my ways to make sure you don’t,” he replied, smirking.

“You –” kiss. “arrogant-” kiss. “stinky-” kiss. I groaned. Another kiss from him. “Stop k-” kiss. I sank into him. He kissed me, the lightest touching of lips, lingering. I surrendered to him, pulling him in, deepening the kiss.

I pulled away first when I felt my head spinning from lack of air. My eyes opened – I didn’t even realize they were closed. His smoldering green eyes made the butterflies fly in my stomach. I blinked, for once speechless.

“Am I forgiven?”

“Aye,” I heard myself answer. I shook my head clear, resisting the urge to stick my tongue out at him. “But this doesn’t mean I won’t kill you.” He burst out laughing, hugging me close.

“That’s what I love about you.”

I raised an eyebrow at him. “That I will kill you?” But I was warm on the inside. I am loved!

“That you keep a clear head,” he responded, laughing. He suddenly became serious again. “Isabella ‘Key’ Swan, I don’t really know when I started falling in love with you. You don’t know how many times I wished you were a girl the first few days my ship. I wanted you to cower before me – to show some sort of weakness so I won’t be feeling this way. And when you came back, I wished so much that you were the girl I met in the alleyway. I love you.” He paused. I swallowed, my mouth suddenly dry. “Would you marry me, so I can spend the rest of my life showing you just how much I love you and cherish that you are who you are?”

I trembled. “Yes, I will marry you,” I answered, tasting the words. I smiled; his face lit up like the sun, brightening my world. “Aye, I’ll marry you,” I repeated, louder, laughing. He picked me up and swung me around in a circle. “Even though I’ll spend the rest of time regretting it.”

He huffed. “Some faith, Bella!” I hugged him.

**

The wedding was a small one held on the ship. Edward gave me a sapphire-encrusted ring – delicate but beautiful. I gave him the amulet, fixed by a combined effort from Charlie, Aro, Caius, and Marcus. It was a magic trinket. It was the part that ol’ Robert Jenkins added – the key to all his treasures… in the heart of the maelstrom that once almost took my father’s life.

But just because we had treasure doesn’t mean we all stopped terrorizing the seas. It was simply too much fun stopping ships, crossing swords, and terrorizing a few hundred men… before we bow, thank them for a good time, and leave with a few new sword tokens strapped to our sides.

~The End~

So... what do you think? I'm thinking of rewriting parts of this... it really doesn't live up to my dreams. The Charlie-Bella conversation ended with a too-cheesy note. I guess laying off writing in the midst of prom, graduation, and choosing colleges will do that to you - making you really unsure exactly what your visions are.

In other news, the poll for the next story's going to close 2 weeks from now. I don't know anything about when I'll feel up to starting (and finishing) another story, but I'll post a notice on this story when that happens. I think I want to sort out my colleges first, and get all the forms in, and come to terms that I'm going to cmu mainly because it's cheaper, and it has a better cs program... and my parents are willing to pay for education rather than the college experience, and lots of other things (such as the fact that college dorms don't have private ensuite bathrooms that you share with only your roommate like my highschool dorm does or the fact that dorms are more than 2 stories tall or the fact that each wing doesn't have a wing lounge, but rather each floor has a lounge, if you're lucky).

Lastly, I want to thank everyone that made this story possible. From your encouraging reviews to your patience while I struggled with my life and set this story aside. Without you all, I would never have the endurance to even make it half way through the story. And I promise that someday, this last chappy/epilogue-thing --will-- be rewritten to be a perfect ending.

Until next time,
--Cathy

PS: as with all my other stories, if you're reading this a month from now, two months, a year, so on, I'd still like to hear your thoughts on what went well and what didn't. Constructive criticism is much appreciated.